A/N: This is set in Vol. 2. Reading Laws of Attraction is unnecessary, but if you like Pyrrha, you might enjoy it! It's a rewrite of RWBY from Pyrrha's POV in canon. Context from that fic for this little story: Pyrrha has feelings for Jaune and is shy as hell, Nora knows about it and teases her a lot, Jaune is clueless to his own feelings and we're all annoyed, and the whole Beacon Bunch (ft. Team SSSN) has weekly Sunday noodle nights.
I know that LoA can be pretty angst-heavy so here's some fluff to cleanse your palate. Let me know what you think!
Symmetry
It began after one Sunday evening, as the entire JNPR gang slowly stumbled through the campus grounds, holding their stomachs and moaning. Team RWBY had challenged them to a dumpling-eating contest, and instantly, Pyrrha had tried to escape, but to no avail. So, armed with chopsticks and unlimited tea, Pyrrha and her teammates fought bravely, and eventually, found themselves victorious.
They had been proud for a good five minutes before reality set it- Ruby and Yang wanted to head out onto the town, and Pyrrha could barely move. Team RWBY and Team SSSN both left, catching up with Team CFVY at a club- but the redhead could only wave goodbye weakly, grab her bag and stagger to the door of A Simple Wok, regret coursing through her veins. Her teammates fared no better. Maybe… it wasn't good to eat almost two hundred dumplings between the four of us…
Their trip back to Beacon was… a less-than-stellar trip, to say the least. Jaune earned his moniker once more in the nearest trashcan, Nora fell asleep in a doorway much to the chagrin of the airship stewards, and Ren had his face pressed against the cool glass of a window the entire trip. Pyrrha simply opted for lying down across an entire row of seats, focusing on breathing deep and slow and even- but not too deep, for fear of her body realizing what mistakes she had just made.
Unfortunately, as they slowly made their way through Main Avenue in the dark, clutching onto one another desperately for support, the pain only intensified. Jaune was positively green again, Ren looked halfway to tears, Nora was asleep on her feet, and Pyrrha's forehead beaded with sweat and discomfort, the concentration required to keep a pleasant smile affixed to her face for passersby taking more of a toll than any battle ever could.
It was Jaune who gave up first. "I'm going to be sick again," he whimpered, staggering off the path and onto the grass off Main Avenue. "I'm gonna go throw up in a pond."
"Okay," Nora sang breathily, face only mildly pallid. The girl gave the blond a shaky thumbs-up before holding out a valiant fist in the air. "I'm gonna keep… keep going! Almost there!"
"Yay," Ren groaned, deadpan as he limped along the cobblestone path, eyes never straying from his final destination- the dormitories, a looming, tiny figure in the distance, hazy in their pain.
Pyrrha winced, trying to stretch out the cramp in her side without throwing up. "I'm… going to check on Jaune," the girl murmured. The other two waved goodbye without even looking back, clutching onto one another in the early evening, hunched shoulders illuminated by streetlights passing overhead.
The redhead found Jaune about a hundred feet in, hiding away in a dark clearing amongst some trees and flowerbeds. The boy had, thankfully, had enough sense to be sick in a nearby trashcan. He had then crawled away and collapsed on the soft grass, curling on his side and groaning. She sighed, reaching into her small messenger bag and pulling out a water bottle. "Okay Jaune, time to drink something," she murmured, sitting on her knees as gingerly as she could without upsetting her stomach. The blond moaned in protest, but she held out the bottle insistently. "Wash your mouth, at least."
Pitifully, the boy pouted, but she held her ground. He carefully pushed himself up to a seat, taking a small swig of water and grimacing. She rubbed his back tenderly, long accustomed to his air sickness after many team trips down to Vale. After a moment, his expression settled, and he handed back the bottle. "Thanks, Pyrrha," he muttered sheepishly.
Pyrrha smiled warmly through the pain, taking back the bottle and patting the blond on the shoulder. "You feeling better?"
"As long as we never do that again," he grumbled. "I don't know what we were thinking."
She laughed lightly as Jaune groaned again, the boy reaching his arms up and falling down on his back. "I can agree to that," she giggled wholeheartedly.
Straightening his legs, Jaune stretched out, letting his eyes fall onto the sky. "Pyrrha…" he murmured after a moment.
"Yes, Jaune?"
Without warning, the blond reached up, grabbed Pyrrha's arm, and yanked her down onto the grass. With a yelp, the girl fell, wincing as the quick movement jostled her stomach. Thankfully, the grass was plush and soft, without any dew in the wintry night. She lay on her side with her feet by his head- so, she propped herself up on her elbow, staring at him in confusion, then watched his wide, amazed eyes looking up into the sky with a look of wonder upon her own face. "Pyrrha, look!" the boy pointed excitedly at the sky.
The redhead blushed, trying to ignore just how close they were lying down, her heart racing in her chest as she rolled onto her back, readjusting so that their bodies properly ran opposite and parallel. "What is it?" she asked, trying to play along, elbowing his knee. "Oops! Sorry."
And then, she turned her eyes up to the sky at last, and she saw it. In their dark corner of the campus grounds, there weren't any nearby streetlamps to pollute the darkness of the night. The sky was clear of clouds, and the air was crisp and clean and fresh, despite the chill. Above them was nothing but an ocean of darkness, but for once, that shadows didn't feel overwhelming, drowning her. Instead, her eyes trailed across a sea of stars, each one twinkling and shining brightly, forming constellations and patterns and filling the sky with magic.
Immediately, Jaune launched into a heated explanation. "Look at that bright one over there!" he cried, pointing to a corner of the sky. Pyrrha frowned, trying to follow his finger- but at her horizontal angle, she couldn't see which one. She hummed noncommittally, and the boy instantly picked up on her confusion. Groaning, he grabbed her hand and dragged it into the air, lining it up with the star in question. "There- right where your finger should be. See it?"
At the tip of her finger was indeed a bright star, glowing gently in the evening sky- just a little sweeter than all the others. Pyrrha barely focused on it though, eyes fixated on Jaune's large hand holding onto hers. She cleared her throat and hummed again, all discomfort from their poor dinner choices forgotten from the heat of his touch.
"That one's my favourite," he announced proudly. "My dad showed it to me when I was a kid."
"What's it called?" she murmured, carefully keeping her voice level, ignoring the fluttering of her heart. Thank the gods it's dark over here, she thought tiredly, the heat of her cheeks almost scathing by this point.
Jaune didn't release her hand, simply moving along to a different star, guiding her along the way. "I honestly don't know," he admitted wryly. "Dad was never too good at that sort of stuff. He just… always said that it was our family's star. It's always the first one I look for in the sky. Apparently, it's been there through the generations."
"Stars aren't exactly short-lived lights, Jaune," the girl chuckled. "Of course it'll have been there a long time- millions of years."
He scoffed airily. "Details, details. Do I look like Professor Oobleck or something? Ooh, look at that one!"
And thus began an evening of staring up at the stars, the cold staved off by the heat emanating off their bodies. Maybe it was the fact that they were lying down and allowing themselves to digest, but they no longer felt sick- instead, all they could focus on was the glowing, ethereal ribbon of diamonds above, Jaune's excited voice ringing through the quiet evening air, and Pyrrha's heart, full to bursting, taking in the peace of the moment with such joy that she wanted to carve this lovely, once-in-a-lifetime magic in her soul forever.
Only, it didn't happen only once. The next week, after their Friday night sparring practice, Jaune collapsed onto the ground on his bottom, breathing heavily. He tapped the ground. "I'm out. I'm out. I give up. Have pity on me." His hair was slicked to his forehead, hoodie damp with sweat, breaths steaming in the night air.
"Jaune," the redhead laughed heartily, barely fazed by their training, "this isn't Vacuo-style wrestling. If you're tired, we can stop!"
Jaune leaned back on his hands, letting his head loll back. Before he could respond, his eyes widened, a large smile breaking upon his face. "Pyrrha! Come sit!" He ignored her words, patting the ground next to him enthusiastically.
She raised a brow, but obliged, placing Miló and Akoúo obediently at her side as she kneeled beside him. The redhead rolled her eyes as the blond immediately lay down, and she took her same place beside him, stretching out on her back. She bent one knee, her boot accidentally knocking Jaune's head. The boy muttered a quiet, "Hey!" to which she apologized profusely before settling down again. She pulled Akoúo under her head as a makeshift pillow against the cold concrete, bringing her eyes back up to the clear night sky, leaning one elbow against his calf. Although Beacon's CCT still glowed green in the distance, blocking out some of the starlight, there were still more than enough stars to fill the sky.
"It's beautiful," she breathed.
"Yeah," he whispered, a wide smile on his face.
She sat up slightly, saw his happy expression, and lay back down, content. No more words were shared that night until Ren messaged them about freshly-baked cupcakes, and his plea for help to get Nora to stop eating all of the frosting.
This became sort of a tradition between the blond and the redhead. After every training session, every noodle night, every moment of quiet and solitude and peace, they would find a cozy, discreet, dark spot on campus and just watch the stars. Once in a while, Jaune would point out another star, share another anecdote about the numerous camping adventures he had had growing up with seven wild sisters and two ridiculously patient, passive parents. Some stars were guiding lights for them, others simply parts of constellations. Whether the tales he affixed those shapes in the sky were real folklore or no, Pyrrha didn't know. But she relished in these moments of listening to Jaune ramble on, the happiness and comfort and warmth in his voice so palpable that she didn't even need to see the stars with her own eyes- all she had to do was close her eyes, lean her head back, and let his words paint pictures of galaxies far away and the magical tales woven by their depths.
It was an easy routine. Yes, Nora mocked her lovingly and relentlessly for it, and yes, Ren was uncomfortable and suspicious, and, yes, Team RWBY was curious as to where the two snuck off to instead of going out dancing some Sunday nights, but the quietude was kind to them. After all of the tumultuousness of their year thus far, with Cardin and Jaune's lies and Pyrrha's anxieties and everything in between, it was a welcome break. She loved it- when she was with him, lying down in the darkness, she felt safe. They fit perfectly- just tall enough so that her heels extended past his head, his past hers, balancing each other out. Symmetrical, opposite.
"Are you sure you don't want to go with everyone?" Pyrrha murmured as they picked their way across the grounds one Sunday night. During dinner, an unexpected rain shower had drenched the campus grounds, leaving their normal grassy knolls a damp mess. So, the pair wandered around until they had found a covered set of large benches in the center of a carefully-manicured rose garden, the view from the seats a clear view of the stars. She sat down and drew her legs up into her chest, snuggling into her thick winter coat and scarf, breath misting in the night air.
"No," the boy murmured quietly, immediately taking a seat and sprawling out on one of the benches. "I think we've had enough excitement today."
She laughed. "Dinner was fun, though! It was grand having Team CFVY there, too."
Jaune hummed in agreement. "Yeah, Velvet is super nice, and I'm not even that scared of Coco anymore!"
"You were scared of Coco?" she asked in disbelief.
The blond mumbled, "She reminds me of one of my sisters- and if you knew her, you'd be scared seeing Coco, too."
"Whatever you say," she giggled, watching the few straggling clouds from the earlier rainfall crawl across the night sky.
After a few moments of quietude, however, the blond whispered, "Why is this so easy, Pyrrha?"
She frowned. What is he talking about? She didn't press, though- the blond would tell in his own time.
And, he did. "It's just…" She glanced over, and to her surprise, his cheeks were visibly pink even in the darkness. "You're a girl. But it's easy, with you," he began clumsily. "So… why isn't talking and stuff easy with…?"
Pyrrha didn't comment, didn't reply- she simply tried to quell the fact that her brain automatically jumped to every other girl in their friend circle, rather than to herself. He's… the blond's blush didn't fade, and she could tell- even though his eyes reflected the stars, he wasn't looking at them- not really.
He's… thinking of someone. And it's not me, is it.
She grimaced, hiding her downturned mouth under her scarf. "We're partners, Jaune," she replied at last, voice muffled by cloth. "I… I'm not sure what you're talking about-" That's a filthy lie and you know it, the little black box mocked, "-but I'm always here for you. You know that, right?"
He hummed, and that was that for the night.
She tried to push that night out of her mind, but it haunted her. She tried to forget it, tried to ignore how her eyes immediately searched his face every time he spoke to any of their female friends- but she just couldn't tell who Jaune had been thinking of that night. It drove her mad, seeing how his eyes didn't focus on the stars anymore.
And yet, it didn't matter. After a few weeks of wondering, of waiting desperately for another clue to tell her who his eyes had focused on rather than the stars, he gestured her over to sit with him on the rooftop of the dormitory. Once she was seated, legs hanging off of edge of the roof, dangling next to his, he laid his torso down and patted the ground next to him. She silently obeyed, laying down, training her eyes on the sky above.
"Jaune."
"Yes, Pyrrha?"
"It's cloudy."
And it was. During their sparring session, the clouds had rolled over the sky, blocking out any and all signs of the ribbons of stars which surrounded the crumbling moon hovering above Remnant. They couldn't see anything.
"I know."
She bristled, confused. "Then, why are we…?"
She could feel him shrug. A chilly wind washed over them, exposed on the rooftop as they were. They both shivered, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shift so their arms were pressed together.
"It's nice, sitting here. It's a good way to unwind after training," he confessed after a moment. "It… doesn't feel right, not looking up at the sky like this."
And her arm was warm, and despite the frigid winter air, she couldn't help but agree.
"…you know, you're going to get cramps once you get up if you don't stretch after training."
"Ugh, Pyrrha, just… look at the clouds, okay? See?" He grabbed her hand and pointed with it, their usual practice after so many nights of stargazing. Only this time, she realized faintly, their heads were close for once, the space between them nothing but a few inches of rooftop.
He added, "That one looks like a Nevermore."
"It just looks like a triangle."
"You have no imagination!" he cried indignantly.
She smiled, pressing into him, enjoying the warmth only he could provide. "Whatever you say," she sang, but her eyes were glazed over, and she let her head turn to the side, closing her eyes, facing Jaune, basking in the closeness.
And, when she opened her eyes again many heartbeats later, his eyes weren't focused on the clouds, or on the face of some unknown girl. Pyrrha's green met blue, and she finally knew what he was looking at, at least for that night- the stars in her own eyes.